What Organic Produce Do I Need to Buy?

The Organic Food Dilemma

Certain foods on your grocery list don't have to be labelled organic in order for you to want to buy them. There are plenty of produce items that make no difference whether purchased organically or not, simply due to the composition of the produce itself. Plus, organic and natural foods can be pretty expensive, and some of us just don't have the money to buy a $5 "organic" avocado. So why do we even buy organic food in the first place? The reasoning behind organically labelled products comes from the lack of preservatives and pesticides placed on the food item before hitting the shelves of your local Publix. The food you want to buy as non-organic has very little pesticides leftover, while certain foods should definitely be purchased as organic, since their non-organic counterparts have the potential to be full of chemical preservatives due to their thin protective skin. Below are compiled lists of the top ten organic and non-organic foods you need to buy on your next grocery store run.

TOP 10 FOODS THAT DON'T NEED TO BE ORGANIC:

Avocado: With its tough skin and edible inside, the avocado is okay to buy non-organic since the pesticides don't seep through the thick skin and into the green interior.

Sweet Corn: The husk of the corn, like an avocado, allows the part of the corn we consume to be untouched by the chemical preservatives sprayed on the outside of the vegetable.

Pineapples: The outer skin of a pineapple is so thick that it will protect the interior from any harmful chemicals, which in turn saves the yellow fruit on the inside from being contaminated.

Asparagus: This is the one time we can thank the pests. They don't enjoy the taste of asparagus, so they tend to stay away. This causes less chemicals to be sprayed on the growing vegetable, which makes it cleaner.

Cabbage: It's best to forgo the first layer or two of cabbage, since those are primarily what are touched by any pesticides. However, the inside layers are safe to eat, so feel free to buy non-organic.

Kiwi: Just like an avocado, the kiwi skin is not the part of the fruit you'll be eating, so you don't need to pay extra for it to be organic.

Onions: Since we have to peel back so many layers of an onion's skin to eat it, the onion itself is not affected by pesticides and does not need to be purchased as organic.

Mango: The majority of the foods on this list have thick skin, so naturally, the mango follows suit. Organic mangoes are just unnecessary.

Eggplants: By the time the eggplant has reached the shelf, the pesticides have mostly been sprayed off, which means that you don't have to pay more money to get the extra organic sticker on it.

Sweet Potatoes: These have way less pesticides than normal potatoes, so it's safe to buy these non-organic.

Avocados and sweet corn take the places of #1 and #2 on the list of unnecessary organic foods because they contain the least amount of pesticides. As you work your way from #3 to #10, these eight remaining produce items contain little preservative residue on them, which makes it perfectly okay to save your money and buy these as regular food products, and not organic.

TOP 10 FOODS THAT YOU SHOULD BUY ORGANIC:

Every single one of the items on this list are directly and wholly consumed, meaning there is no tough outer layer of skin to protect the edible part of the food from pesticide contamination. These produce items are all entirely edible, so pesticides have no problem clinging to the outside of the food.

Strawberries

Apples

Kale

Spinach

Tomatoes

Pears

Peaches

Cherries

Potatoes

Grapes

Strawberries and apples are the top two foods that are covered with the most pesticides, if not purchased organically. The other eight foods on this list have varying levels of leftover preservatives on them when bought normally, so it's smartest to save up your money for these ten organic foods and spend less on the other ten listed.

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